


HP, Too, Is An Acronym

by MysiaRi



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-16
Updated: 2015-12-24
Packaged: 2018-05-07 02:03:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,702
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5439362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MysiaRi/pseuds/MysiaRi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sans finally breaks as time resets once again and tries to escape his fate. A mysterious figure offers him a new perspective on the world to try and restore what Sans has lost: hope.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Papyrus laughed as he gathered up a heap of snow, hefting it onto his snow sculpture with a “Nyeh”.

“AND THEN THE SPAGHETTI CAUGHT ON FIRE! CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT SANS? IT’S A GOOD THING UNDYNE HAD SOME BACK UP SPAGHETTI OR…WE…” The tall skeleton trailed off, noticing that Sans wasn’t working on his own snowman any longer. “SANS?”

The shorter skeleton knelt on the ground, his hands buried in the mound he had created. He didn’t acknowledge Papyrus, shoulders shaking and his eyes focused on his hands.

“n-no…it…it happened again…” Sans muttered weakly, his voice wavering. He didn’t notice that Papyrus had moved closer. “why? d-did i do something wrong? i thought…”

“NO SANS, YOU’RE DOING GOOD,” Papyrus said, hoping to encourage his brother. “YOU HAVE A GOOD START FOR A FOUNDATION. I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, WILL BE GLAD TO HELP YOU WITH THE NEXT STEP!” The taller skeleton knelt beside his brother, trying to keep the growing worry out of his voice. He didn’t know what was bothering Sans. Was he really this upset over his snowman? “WITH MY HELP, WE CAN MAKE A VERY…ICE…SNOWMAN!” Puns always made Sans happy. He would swallow his pride and make as many as it took to bring his smile back. “COME BROTHER, PUT A LITTLE…BACK-BONE INTO IT? NYEH HEH HEH!”

Sans didn’t respond, his head bowing further. “i don’t…i can’t…”

“NO NO, YOU CAN DO IT. IT’S EASY, YOU’LL SEE! YOU COULD SAY IT SHALL BE…SNOW…PROBLEM?” Papyrus felt a chill down his spine as a choked sob escaped his brother. Sans had been fine a moment before: laughing making his insufferable puns. Papyrus couldn't fathom what had unsettled him so badly and carefully placed a hand on his shoulder, offering support and comfort. “SANS, WHAT’S WRONG?”

“i can’t do this again! i won’t! i-it’s not fair!” Sans shouted suddenly, voice torn with grief and body shaking.

And then he was gone.

Papyrus sat back, his hand hovering where Sans’ shoulder had been as he tried to comprehend what had just happened. The second his initial shock faded, he was on his feet, racing up the slope to the slippery puzzle above. He didn’t waste time solving it, instead jumping over the gap easily. As he ran past Greater Dog’s station and over the bridge to Snowdin, all he could think is that he had done something to upset Sans.

There hadn’t been anyone or anything else that could have upset him. And the moment he had reached out to him he had teleported away.

 _HE HAS TO BE AT HOME. PLEASE LET HIM BE AT HOME_ he thought, running full tilt through the town and ignoring any strange looks he received. As he passed by Grillby’s, he peered through the window, letting out a frustrated cry before he continued to their home.

Papyrus couldn’t get the front door open fast enough. “SANS! WHATEVER I DID, I’M SORRY! PLEASE-“ he looked around the living room and kitchen before stumbling up the stairs. Checking his own room first and finding nothing, he went to Sans’ door and fished out his copy of the key. He pounded on the door even as he was unlocking it. “SANS, THIS IS AN EMERGENCY SO I’M COMING-“ as he opened the door, he looked around franticly. “IN…”

Papyrus leaned on the door frame, his entire body feeling numb and heavy. Ignoring the tears that leaked from his eyes and his shaking hands, he dug out his cell phone and dialed Sans’ number.

Ring…Ring…

But nobody came.

 

* * *

 

Undyne bashed the piano keys with both fists as her phone started to ring, annoyed at the interruption. Seeing that it was Papyrus’ number, she drew in a calming breath before answering.

“Hey-“

“UNDYNE!” the skeleton interrupted, the distress in his voice catching Undyne off guard. “PLEASE, I-I NEED YOUR HELP! SANS IS GONE! HE WAS SO UPSET, I-I DON’T KNOW WHAT’S WRONG OR..OR IF I DID SOMETHING BUT..BUT HE JUST LEFT AND HE WAS CRYING AND I CAN’T FIND HIM AND I…I”

“Calm down Papyrus,” Undyne commanded, furrowing her brow. “Sans is gone?”

“YES! WE WERE BUILDING…ER…RECALIBRATING PUZZLES AND HE SUDDENLY…I JUST…WHAT DID I DO TO UPSET HIM LIKE THAT? AND HE WAS JUST SO…BROKEN…WHY…WHY SANS…” Papyrus whined, clearly rattled.

“Ok, calm down Papyrus,” Undyne said firmly, trying to figure out a way to get Papyrus to listen. She bit her lip before adding “you won’t get into the royal guard with that attitude.”

That got his attention. “Y-YES…S-S-SORRY UNDYNE…”

“Alright now, let’s be reasonable here. You couldn’t have done anything ta upset Sans. I mean, you’re…you.” She could practically here the nod that accompanied the small sigh of relief. “Maybe something else was eating at him, you know? Did he say anything?”

“NO… BUT…Y-YOU HAVE TO BE RIGHT, UNDYNE. I-I WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING TO HURT SANS.” Papyrus paused a moment. “BUT…IF HE IS UPSET, THEN AS HIS BROTHER, IT IS MY DUTY TO FIND HIM AND TO HELP MAKE THINGS RIGHT AGAIN. MAYBE HE WENT TO THE BIG DOOR BY HIS STATION. I HAVE SEEN HIM THERE BEFORE.”

“Alright, you go check there. And tell the Snowdin Canine Unit to look for him too. I’ll get with Alphys and we’ll check out Waterfall and Hotland, ok Papyrus? Call me if you find him.”

“WILL DO UNDYNE!” Papyrus responded, sounding more like himself as he hung up.

Undyne dialed Alphys’ number as she got herself ready. _Sans always has his cool, so for him to lose it like that and not even be able to talk to Papyrus…_ She narrowed her eyes and ground her teeth together. _If I find out someone **did** do something to upset Sans, then they’re going to answer to me! _ “NGAHH!”

“U-u-undyne? I-is that you?” Alphys squeaked from the other end of the phone, startled by Undyne’s exclaimation.

“Hey Alphys, you got cameras set up all over, right?”

“Y-yes. W-why do you-“

“Good, I need you to use them to find Sans,” she explained, already exiting her house. “Give Hotland a sweep and let me know if you find anything. I’m going to start checking around Waterfall.”

“S-sans is missing?” There was a crashing sound on Alphys’ side of the phone. “U-uh r-right, I’ll start looking a-and I’ll ask M-mettaton if…if he’s heard from him.”

“Thanks Alphys, you’re the best!” Undyne said encouragingly. She hung up and took off running, determined to locate the missing skeleton.

* * *

 

Sans wandered woodenly through Waterfall, trying to decide where he could go to hide out this reset. He had made up his mind that nothing he or anyone else did mattered. The thought of suicide had crossed his mind, but he realized it would just be undone like everything else he could try.

There had been a time when he had had drive and ambition. He had devised a plan to go back in time to before the resets had even begun. In doing so, he had hoped to find a way to stop them and stabilize the time line, however, he could never make enough progress on the machine to get it working before his work was undone by another reset. In the end, the machine was left in his lab, abandoned in favor of trying to find another solution.

Each reset, he felt his feet dragging a bit more and he had been slowly losing hope. He had stopped counting during the last round of resets, though he had never really figured out the source of the anomaly. The current resets were definitely centered about the human child’s arrival in the underground and had happened less than ten times, if he had to make a guess. They still weighed on him all the same like an anchor around his neck.

After this reset, however, he had felt last thread of hope snap and plunged into depression with nothing to cling to.

Pushing his hands deeper into his pockets, he trudged through another patch of seaweed.

 _i could hide in the lab. even pap couldn’t find me there…_ he grunted at the thought. _but that’s just more reminders of more resets and more failures…_ Shaking his head to try and clear his thoughts, he passed by a table with a glowing piece of crystal on it that encased a piece of cheese. Knowing the mouse might never extract the cheese from the mystical crystal... It filled him with diffidence.

 _this reset can go on without me. i quit,_ he thought bitterly, closing his eyes for a moment. When he opened them, he’d expected to be near his joke telescope. Instead, he found that it was still several feet away. He spun to his right and looked behind him to see he was well passed the table. The two had never seemed this far apart before. Continuing to turn to his right he stopped as he faced the wall of the cavern, momentarily shaken from his depression.

A lone, gray door stood before him. Now _that_ was new. Curiosity and a desire for any distraction lured him closer. He paused for a moment, his hand hovering near the door knob.

 _why am i so afraid?_ he wondered, narrowing his eyes as he tried to discern what caused him to hesitate. _what’s the worst that can happen? everything will just reset again anyway._ He shook his head at that thought and opened the door.

At first, he didn’t see anything in the room. Pushing down his apprehension, he entered the room fully. He had only taken 3 steps when the door abruptly shut behind him, startling him. He looked back at the door for a moment before returning his attention to the room.

_~~“Greetings Sans”~~ _

Sans’ eyes widened and he took an involuntary step back as he saw the figure that had materialized in the center of the room: a tall skeleton wearing a long, dark coat over a white turtleneck and black pants. His hands bore odd holes through their centers and his skull had two splits in it near his eyes. The split on the left eye was short and went down toward his mouth while the split on the right went up to the top of his head and was longer. The voice, the appearance of this man; something about him seemed so familiar…

_~~“Do you know who I am?”~~ _

“gaster,” Sans replied automatically, blinking. _h-how do I know his name?_

Gaster moved toward him, his appearance distorting slightly but always keeping its shape. It was as though the universe were having a problem with his existence. _~~“Do you remember Sans?”~~_

Sans stumbled back, suddenly fearful of the skeleton that loomed closer. He reached back for the door only to find it wasn’t there any longer. He wanted to look back, to run, to do anything to escape, but his eyes were locked on Gaster’s. A nervous sweat prickled on his skull as his back pressed against the wall.

Gaster hesitated for a moment before reaching a hand to Sans, offering a patient smile as he waited for the smaller skeleton to take it. Sans’ eyes flickered from Gaster’s face to the proffered hand. Slowly, he forced himself to take the hand in his own.

 _ ~~“Tell me Sans, why are you here,”~~_ Gaster asked, bringing his other hand to cover Sans’.

Remembering why he had run off in the first place, the lights in Sans’ eyes dimmed, his expression a mix of pain and sorrow.

_~~“The resets.”~~ _

“i can’t…” Sans choked, not sure why he was compelled to tell Gaster anything but not caring at the moment. “i…i thought i finally got them to be happy, ya know? we made it out _again_. we were friends _again_. they were happy and …and i thought…” His eyes squeezed shut and he slid against the wall until he was sitting. Gaster kept his grasp on Sans’ hand, dropping to one knee before him.

“why can’t they just be _happy_? why are they resetting?" Sans trembled and brought his free hand to his head, staring forward blankly. “i couldn’t find the cause of the last resets, but this time i _know_ the entity and i can’t stop him from resetting. i-i’ve tried being their friend …I’ve killed them, they’ve killed me…and it never…it’s never enough…why…?”

Gaster waited patiently, rubbing soothing circles on the captured hand.

“it’s…never enough…” Sans said quietly, slumping against the wall, his free hand falling limply to his side. “i don’t care _how_ it ends anymore, i just don’t want to live this way. i _can’t_ live this way.”

 _ ~~“And yet death is not an option,”~~ _ Gaster said, his tone a shade darker. He stopped petting San’ hand but held it firmly in both of his.

“heh, nah, i’d just end up coming back again anyway. i feel like it’d be better if i just never existed. then i’d never have to deal with the resets. and no one could miss me either.”

The vision in Sans’ left eye suddenly went blue, as it did when he called on his magic, only he hadn’t. It was welling up inside of him unbidden. He looked up to see that Gaster’s eyes also glowed; the right eye glowed blue like his, the left orange like Papyrus’ could do. His head swam and he struggled to pull his hand free of Gaster’s grasp.

 _ ~~“Then I will show you what it is like,”~~_ Gaster said, his voice sounding distorted. Like a switch being flipped, Sans’ vision suddenly went black.

_~~“To be me."~~ _


	2. Chapter 2

Sans found himself on his hands and knees in the snow, as he did with every reset since the human first arrived. This time, however, he was alone. Blinking and sitting back on his knees, he looked around finding no trace that anyone had been there in a while. He slowly got to his feet, absently dusting himself off.

“papyrus?” he called, making a face at the sound of his own voice. Something was off about it. “papyrus?” he tried again, louder. He realized that his voice had no echo to it, as if it was a sound only he could hear.

Curious but also worried about Papyrus, he made his way up the slope and looked around. His eyes fell on the large field of ice that lay bare before him rather than being covered with X’s. He shivered and realized he felt cold, but it didn’t seem to have anything to do with the temperature around him.

“heh…g-guess i’m feelin’…ch-chilled to the bone,” he chuckled weakly to himself. He tried to teleport himself to Snowdin Town, but found he couldn’t call on his magic. Feeling apprehensive, he forced himself to move toward the town. He didn’t notice that the ice wasn’t slippery beneath his feet.

As he passed Greater Dog’s station, he frowned. Normally Greater Dog would pelt towards him, seeking affection. Instead he was playing with a snow poff, seemingly oblivious to the skeleton’s presence. Shrugging it off, he pushed his hands into his pockets to discover his cell phone was missing.

 _what did gaster say? he was going to let me see what it meant to be him? what does that mean?_ Sans furrowed his brow as he entered the town. _i feel…out of place? my phone is gone. papyrus wasn’t with me… what!?_ he stopped, realizing he had walked into one of the presents by the tree in town. He looked down to see his foot was inside the box but it wasn’t damaged.  
  
Lifting his leg, he saw his slippered foot phase through the box as though it wasn’t there. He stumbled back a few steps and felt a strange sensation in his bones. Looking down he saw two children had run through him, not even registering his presence.

“what is happening?” he asked aloud, noticing that no one reacted to his question.

 _ ~~“You don’t exist,”~~_ Gaster’s voice supplied, the tall skeleton appearing beside him without warning. _~~“And yet you are here; among them while they are out of reach.”~~_

Sans scrutinized Gaster a moment before looking at his own hand, “how…?”

 _ ~~“This is how things would be without you.”~~_ Gaster stated simply. _~~“You can do as you please.”~~_

“what did you- gaster?” Sans sighed seeing Gaster had vanished and left him to his own devices. He covered his mouth for a moment before returning the hand to his pocket. “all right, guess i just have to play along for now.”

Snowdin seemed much the same as before: just a peaceful, snow covered town full of nice monsters. It felt as though something were missing, but he couldn’t put his finger on it. The only real difference he found was that Grillby’s seemed much less lively.

Remembering that he hadn’t encountered any puzzles on his way into town, he wondered how Papyrus’ life would be affected. He felt a stab of guilt remembering that he had left his brother with no explanation for his outburst. If there was one thing that had kept him grounded throughout the resets, it was Papyrus.

“he won’t even remember it even happened,” Sans muttered, knowing that he himself would never forget.

As he passed the Librarby (even in this world they had spelled the sign wrong), he found that their house was gone.

 _ ~~“You never came to Snowdin,”~~_ Gaster spoke from behind Sans. The shorter skeleton turned around to face him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

“then where is papyrus?” Sans asked aloud. When he didn’t receive and answer, he drew in a breath. “heh, ok. _icy_. guess if i want to _snow_ i’ll need ta keep looking around.” He turned toward the path to Waterfall and began walking.

Sans he had forgotten just how long it took to travel on foot. Teleportation came easily to him and enabled his laziness as much as it allowed him to be where he was needed at a moment’s notice. Walking though Waterfall, however, gave him a chance to compare this area to his memory as well as reminding him just how large an area Waterfall was.

Although his apparent non-existence seemed to come with limitless energy, he was still compelled to be lazy after walking for a while. He had to admit that it was nice to be able to let time pass him by without worrying about where he **_should_** be. He decided to take a break and truly relax for the first time in what seemed like decades.

Even so, he knew that the human would have only just left the ruins which meant there was little chance of him seeing them anytime soon.

Time passed and he found himself laying chest down on the ground, legs bent so he could kick his feet in the air lazily. His head was propped up on closed fists while he watched Washua attempt to clean some glowing mushrooms.

“yeah, heh, I don’t usually come down to waterfall. always end up getting soaked to the bone.” He chuckled at himself. “come on now kid, that was a _clean_ joke.” he sighed, folding his arms on the ground and dropping his head into them. “bet if you could hear me you’d be laughing,” he huffed slightly.

Suddenly feeling restless, he got up and needlessly dusted himself off. He was contemplating where he should explore next when Shyren’s scream echoed through the caverns. Washua looked up from his cleaning, seeming torn as to whether to resume or investigate the noise. Curiosity got the better of the monster and he scurried off.

“no! wait little buddy!” Sans’ panic shaking him from the fear twisting inside him. _no nonono!_ He chased after Washua, trying to grab it out of reflex only to be reminded that he was intangible. He looked up as he caught a flash of pink fabric, cringing as his fears were realized.

The human child wasted no time in attacking Washua. It wore a dusty tutu around its waist and dust-covered ballet slippers on its feet.

Sans brought his hands to his head, wanting to turn away and be sick all at once. As Washua dissolved into dust, the child marched through its remains looking unsatisfied.

“oh god…they shouldn’t be here yet…and they’re killing again…” Sans trembled, his hands moving to his chest as the memory of past confrontations made him feel an echo of pain.

_~~“You seem bothered.”~~ _

Sans jumped, tearing his eyes away from the human to see that Gaster had reappeared again.

 _ ~~“It doesn’t concern you anymore, remember?”~~_ Gaster stated plainly, moving to follow behind the human, his hands clasped behind his back. _~~“You can do whatever you please.”~~_ His form shifted and flickered rapidly before blinking out of existence once more.

The human froze, turning to look back. Their eyes glinted red as they looked right at Sans for a moment. The skeleton shivered, reminding himself that the human couldn’t see him much less hurt him. Scowling, the child turned away and continued walking.

It took Sans a moment to collect himself. Gaster had a point; the human was no longer his problem since he no longer existed in the world. _But why are they here so soon…oh..oh! that’s right. papyrus and I held them up with puzzles…_ The image of his brother’s dusty scarf against a backdrop of snow flashed in his mind and he squeezed his eyes shut.

“papyrus wasn’t in snowdin. he’s _not_ dead.” He told himself aloud, his depressed mind adding that Papyrus was alive because Sans hadn’t been there to fail him. “but where is he?” he opened his eyes, his hands slipping into his pockets again. He decided he needed to know where his brother was in this reality, even if it ‘didn’t concern him’.

His search took him first to Undyne’s home. Sans almost knocked on the door before remembering he didn’t need to. He phased through the door, looking around the fish monster’s home. She was dressed in her full suit of armor minus her helmet. She stood in her kitchen, her back to him with one hand on the counter in front of her while the other held her phone to her ear.

“No…it’s just like you saw on the cameras,” she was saying, her voice tight. “I didn’t find anyone in Snowdin. Where is _it_ now?” she paused, her hand flexing on the counter hard enough to make it creak. “Ok, I’ve got Napstablook and the dummy working on evacuations…listen Alphys…this is…bad. Ngh…no, look just…watch out for me, will ya? I failed Snowdin, this thing has ta be stopped. If I don’t make it, it’s up ta you. I already told Asgore. If it come to that then…I gotta go. I…ngh...uh, wish me luck.” She closed her phone, turning to throw it against the wall with a cry of rage. Tears stained her face as she punched the counter, cracks spreading from the impact of her fist.

“Damn it!” She screamed through clenched teeth. “Damn it…” she said again, squeezing her good eye shut. “Everyone was counting on me and I let ‘em down.” She grabbed her kitchen towel and wiped her face before storming for the door. “That human’s gonna wish they never fell down here when I’m done with ‘em.”

Sans watched after her guiltily. “Snowdin…I wasn’t here to…”

 _ ~~“Things will just reset anyway,”~~_ Gaster reminded him, appearing behind him again. Sans didn’t bother looking back at him this time. He was learning to expect it. _~~“It doesn’t matter if everyone dies. It’s just more dust to be swept up by the winds of time.”~~_

Sans grimaced, clenching his hands into fists in his pockets. “heh, guess i shouldn’t care, right?” he muttered, glancing back to find Gaster gone again. “the evacuations. so pap would be at the lab.”

He made his way to the lab in Hotland quickly, trying to ignore the voice in his head telling him that this was his fault. _i don’t exist,_ he reminded himself, but it sounded like an excuse.

As if to reinforce his non-existence in his mind, he walked through the lab door without hesitation, his hands still buried in his pockets. He spotted Alphys in front of her computer monitor, wringing her claws as she watched the human on the monitor. Other monsters hovered nearby, watching anxiously and waiting for Undyne to appear and smite the human. Realizing that there weren’t as many people here as there should be, Sans feels guilt crawling up his spine.

“I FOUND THEM Alphys!”

Sans looked to see Papyrus coming down the escalator. He was wearing a shirt that just said “Dude” on the front and a pair of shorts. He was carrying an armload of snack foods. _we wouldn’t have made his costume_ Sans noted in the back of his head, feeling another wave of guilt mixed with relief ad seeing his brother was still safe.

“P-papyrus,” Alphys whispered in acknowledgement.

The taller skeleton began handing out snacks to the other monsters before sitting on the floor beside Alphys so he didn’t block the monitor for the others. She smiled weakly as he offered her a bag of popato chisps but shook her head.

Sans moved to stand behind Papyrus, watching the screen as well. “you never got to see this,” he said. “probably for the best…unless this is different too.” He sighed, watching the taller skeleton as he tried his best to keep Alphys’ spirits up. “now i remember. in all of the resets this happened, i could never save you because i had to help with the evacuations. even when i’d tell you to leave, you’d think you could reason with…this,” he nodded to the screen as the human came into view, crossing the bridge leading out of Waterfall. It stopped and looked back as a yellow monster kid came running into view as well. There was no sound, but it seemed that the armless monster was challenging the human. Other monsters behind Sans muttered worriedly about the kid’s safety, but Sans wasn’t bothered. He knew what was about to happen.

The human took a step toward the monster kid, moving to attack.

Sans brought his hands out of his pockets to hug himself. “what’s wrong…” he wondered aloud. “why is this givin’ me chills?” His eyes were fixed on the yellow monster on the screen, expecting Undyne to appear at the last second as always.

_~~“But nobody came.”~~ _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, it was going to be 3 chapters, but this chapter felt better being split so now it'll be 4! Hope you are enjoying it so far!
> 
> In the next chapter of _HP, Too, Is An Acronym_ : A lone figure waits alone in a hallway flooded with golden light. A bell chimes in the distance as a dusty figure approaches, blade drawn and ready to cut down this final obstacle. Judgement will be passed and an ending will be reached! Stay tuned.


	3. Chapter 3

_~~“For one who doesn’t care how things end, you seem very bothered by this turn of events,~~_ ” Gaster pointed out. As he spoke, the human child turned away from the dust scattered on the bridge and began to walk away. _~~“Undyne would have saved Kid if she hadn’t expended so much energy already on trying to evacuate other monsters. Seems she was a little short-handed this time.”~~_

The human child stopped and looked back as Undyne charged toward them, racing across the bridge. Even enraged as she was, she was careful to leap over the monster kid’s remains as she summoned a spear to her hand. As they began fighting, the others cheered her on, wanting revenge for the fallen.

Sans bowed his head so it was partially concealed by the fluff of his hood, trying to hide his expression from Gaster. He unhugged himself, hands slipping back into his pockets, and stared at the back of Papyrus’ head. He felt responsible for the Snowdin deaths as well as Kid's death. It was like a heavy weight around his neck, despite the fact that he was currently unable to do more than watch events unfold.

He didn’t need to look up to know Gaster had left. Nor did he need to watch the monitor to know how the fight was progressing. Undyne had nearly fallen and then had pulled herself together, her determination to save everyone from the human pushing her to another level of power. It seemed as though everyone’s heroine would win.

Even though Sans expected it, he still felt the crushing disappointment and despair that swept through the room when Undyne died.

Alphys let out a pained wail, burying her face in her hands. Mettaton rolled toward her, placing a hand on her shoulder.

“Alphys, you need to get everyone out of here,” the robot said, dragging the distressed monster to her feet. “It’s what she wanted, remember?”

Alphys nodded, wiping her face. Her eyes were distant as she ushered everyone toward the elevator down to the underground lab.

Papyrus sat still, staring at the screen. The cameras switched automatically to follow the human’s movements and he blinked, tears sliding down her face.

“UNDYNE…”

“You too, darling,” Mettaton insisted, tugging at the skeleton’s arm. Papyrus slowly got to his feet, shoulders slumped and eyes downcast. Sans reached out a hand and held to his brother’s as though he were actually holding it.

“sorry bro…” Sans whispered sadly. He followed after Papyrus as he went down below with the others, wishing he could comfort him. Once they arrived in the lower facility, the tall skeleton meandered through the various rooms, seeming lost in his thoughts.

Sans took the time to sort through his own thoughts and feelings in the quiet of the lab. Despite the differences, he knew things would end in a reset again. Even Gaster had pointed that out to him again and again. It was shocking to think how many were dead because he hadn’t been there to help save them, but in the end he supposed it was pointless. Things would reset and the human would return friendlier. Perhaps they would even get everyone out of the underground again. This horror would be erased from everyone’s memories save his own.

He felt his guilt ease slightly, but depression took its place. _it’s all just an endless cycle,_ he thought bitterly. He looked up at Papyrus, still “holding” his brother’s hand. _why couldn’t this be a happy reset?_

Papyrus abruptly stopped moving. He had come to a room filled with mirrors and golden flowers and turned to stare at his reflection. He wiped his face with the edge of his shirt before staring into his own eyes, brows creased.

“Undyne…if you couldn’t beat the human…what will happen to the rest of us?” Papyrus asked, his tone subdued. “And that human…when they reach Asgore…”

Sans realized that he didn’t actually know what happened when the human reached Asgore. For him, it ended in the Hall of Judgment and then he was back in the snow. “undyne warned him about the human, pap. he’ll absorb the 6 souls he’s got and take care of them.”

“I like Asgore. He’s a big fuzzy pushover, but he’s also a great guy. But Undyne said that he hates fighting.”

“true, but…uh…i’m pretty sure in this case-“

“Come on Papyrus, you know what you need to do,” the tall skeleton said, his voice slowly filling with confidence. “You trained with Undyne…well, for only a little while, but still! You wanted to be in the Royal Guard, did you not?”

“no…you need to stay down here, papyrus,” Sans insisted, almost pleading. “that kid-“

“THAT’S RIGHT!” Papyrus crowed, standing tall. “I NEED TO HELP OUT THE KING. IT’S WHAT UNDYNE WOULD DO.” He clenched his hands in front of him, an orange light burning in his right eye. “I WILL STOP THAT HUMAN! FOR UNDYNE! FOR ASGORE! FOR _EVERYONE_! I MUST!” He turned and ran from the hallway, Sans chasing after him.

“papyrus! stop, you can’t fight them! you’ll die!” Sans yelled after him. “i can’t stop him…no…he’s going to die and i can’t stop him…just like every time…”

“ALPHYS?” Papyrus called, finding the yellow monster shuffling toward a large door that stood near a vending machine. She glanced up at the tall skeleton, eyes puffy and red. “I NEED TO GO UP TO THE PALACE.”

Alphys shook her head. “Y-you should s-stay here, Papyrus. I-it’s not safe-“

“I CAN’T STAY HERE,” Papyrus insisted, making a cutting motion in to air. “I CAN FIGHT! I NEED TO BE UP THERE PROTECTING ASGORE!”

“Mettaton…” Alphys said, clasping her hands in front of her. “He w-will do it. He has anti-human weapons and…he has to…if he dies too I…”

“I WILL STOP THE HUMAN IF MATTAON DOES NOT,” Papyrus said, misinterpreting what Alphys was thinking. Sans moved closer to Alphys, studying her face thoughtfully. “IS THERE SOMEWHERE WE CAN WATCH HIM FIGHT?”

Alphys flinched slightly before taking a deep breath. “Y-yeah, follow me.”

 

* * *

 

Mettaton, for all the power his EX form displayed, was defeated by the human with a single blow. Sans could see Alphys’ shock and horror as the robot was destroyed so easily and so completely, but she was silent as she led Papyrus to another elevator, motioning for him to enter.

“DO NOT WORRY, ALPHYS! I WILL STOP THE HUMAN! BELIEVE IN ME!” Papyrus said, hoping to reassure her.

Alphys nodded and cleared her throat. “Good luck, Papyrus…I…I might not be here…w-when you get back so…” she trailed off and looked away for a moment. “Be careful…”

The door slid closed and Sans fidgeted uncomfortably. He had known Alphys was hiding something. And he had seen the Amalgamates in the resets where they needed to evacuate and knew they weighed heavily on her conscious. The look in her eyes made him worry that she might do something to herself.

 _ ~~“Still?”~~_ Gaster asked flatly.

“if he knew what i knew, he wouldn’t be here,” Sans said, looking up at Papyrus. “he should just have stayed with alphys. she needs him more.”

_~~“So he should give up, as you did? Although, even though you told me you wanted to quit, you are still heading toward the same end as usual.”~~ _

“you said i could go wherever i wanted to,” Sans replied, shrugging his shoulders. “guess i’m too lazy to think of anything better to do. i’m already here, might as well see how this plays out.”

Sans followed Papyrus to the Hall of Judgement, watching with growing dread as his brother made preparations to face the human. Part of him didn’t want to be there right now. He tried to tell himself that this didn’t matter; that even if Papyrus died, he would just come back after the reset, unaware that anything had even happened. But he couldn’t. He needed to be there to watch Papyrus fight, no matter how painful it would be. It made him feel like he was being supportive if nothing else.

“Papyrus!”

A small voice started both skeletons. Sans looked around for the owner of the voice to no avail.

“Flowey?” Papyrus asked, looking around as well. “Where are you?”

“flowey?” Sans wondered aloud. He spotted the golden flower peeking from around a pillar.

“Flowey, what are you doing here?” Papyrus asked, moving toward the flower and crouching down.

“Papyrus, you have to help me!” Flowey pleaded, trembling and looking paranoid.

“What happened LITTLE FRIEND,” the tall skeleton soothed, stroking the flower’s face with one finger.

“The human is coming this way!” the flower said, fear in its voice. “Y-you’re strong, Papyrus, I’ve seen you train! You have to stop them! Please!”

“DO NOT FEAR, FLOWEY! I WILL HANDLE THIS HUMAN AND MAKE THEM SEE THE ERROR OF THEIR WAYS!”

“No!” Flowey snapped. “You need to _kill_ them! This isn’t a _game_ Papyrus. This fight, either you will kill or be killed. And if you die, the king- no, **_everyone_** will die! You need to commit to killing there right here and right now! Or do you want to end up like Undyne?”

Papyrus stiffened and lowered his gaze.

Flowey glanced down the hallway and then back to the skeleton his tone gentler but still stern. “You are a great monster, Papyrus; A real and true friend. But the reason Undyne never let you into the Royal Guard is because you are too _nice_ to hurt anyone. But you need to _kill_ this human, Papyrus! All they want is to turn everyone here to dust…and…and I don’t think they’ll stop with the Underground. I really think they want to kill _everyone_. They have to be stopped and-“

“I…UNDERSTAND FLOWEY.” Papyrus said, meeting Flowey’s gaze. “I WILL…DO WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE.” He shivered, bothered by the thought of taking a life but clearly resigned do so.

“He’s coming!” Flowey squeaked. “You can do it Papyrus!” he added quietly before diving into the ground.

Sans stared at the spot the flower had just been as Papyrus moved back to the center of the hall as the human entered. He knew that Flowey had been the one talking to his brother since the first time the human got them all to the surface. He knew Flowey’s plan was to at least obtain the 6 human souls, but whatever happened after that was a blank. All anyone could ever remember was a white light and then the barrier was destroyed. He had never had a chance to ask Frisk what happened after that.

Regardless, the fact that Flowey had come here now and begged Papyrus to kill the human raised a few alarms in Sans’ mind.

“HALT Human,” Papyrus said, his tone so dark that he startled Sans out of his thoughts. “IF THAT IS WHAT YOU ARE.” The child stopped and looked up at the tall skeleton, their eyes glinting red in the golden light of the hall. They held a knife in their right hand and a heart shaped locket hung around their neck. Their blue and purple striped sweater was dull with dust and more was smeared on their face and hands.

“YOU HAVE TAKEN THE LIVES SO MANY,” Papyrus began watching the human carefully. “I DON’T KNOW WHY. I DON’T _CARE_ WHY.” He paused, straightening his back. “NOW, HUMAN, YOU WILL STAND AND ANSWER FOR YOURSELF. ” Orange light burned within his eye sockets and bones of varying sizes appeared around him. “YOU COULD HAVE COME HERE PEACEFULLY. YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO KILL ANYONE. YOU CHOSE TO KILL THEM. AND NOW…I CHOOSE TO KILL YOU. FOR MY FRIENDS. FOR UNDYNE. FOR EVERYONE YOU STILL WANT TO KILL. I WILL PROTECT THEM WITH EVERYTHING I HAVE.”

The human child grinned, amused by the challenge as they took a step toward Papyrus, dagger at the ready.

Sans was really impressed with Papyrus’ skill. He had always known Papyrus was holding back, but he never realized how much. In that single step forward, his brother took the human down in one attack. The amused grin was replaced with a shocked expression as their life came to an abrupt end.

Papyrus closed his eyes, looking away from what he had done. But Sans knew it wasn’t over; not that easily. Time was abruptly restarted to a point just moments earlier. It happened so quickly that even though Sans expected it, it made his head spin. He realized it was because he hadn’t been affected by it himself, just the world around him. He watched as the human approached again, obviously more focused now that he realized Papyrus was truly an threat.

Papyrus took no notice of the difference as, for him, this was their first encounter. Nor did he notice anything different in subsequent attempts the human made. The human, however, was clearly learning.

“come on kid,” Sans muttered, watching the fight as it started over for the tenth time. “just reset. you can’t even last two minutes.”

After twenty-one resets, however, he could see that the human was starting to reach Papyrus’ limits. Time looped again, the start of the twenty-second attempt. They dodged everything Papyrus threw at him, only getting hit twice, though it seemed they had planned for those times. This time they managed to push through Papyrus’ resolve, striking the killing blow.

Unlike Sans, however, Papyrus didn’t know he had fought valiantly. To him, he had been beaten in one attempt. The disbelief and disappointment were evident as the skeleton dropped to his knees.

“I…I AM SORRY UNDYNE. I GUESS…I REALLY WASN’T READY TO JOIN THE ROYAL GUARD,” Papyrus lamented weakly as his body dissolved into dust, scattering to the floor. The human looked down at his remains, spitting a mix of dust and saliva from their mouth. They paused a moment, admiring their work before continuing down the hall.

Sans barely registered the human walking through him, his eyes on his brother’s dust. “you did a good job, papyrus…but this…this was supposed to be my fight…” he clenched his jaw, biting back a flood of mixed emotions: grief, guilt, sorrow, anger… He looked back to end of the hallway, seeing the human was already gone. He felt compelled to follow. “you’ll be back soon, pap. maybe next time you and the kid can be friends.”

He followed the human to the throne room, feeling the weight of his past failure as he saw that Asgore had not absorbed the human souls after all. He thought he could reason with the human, albeit over tea. His death was quick, however the final blow came from Flowey.

“i knew you hadn’t turned over a new leaf…” Sans muttered, watching the exchange between Flowey and the human. “why does he keep calling frisk chara?”

“I can be useful,” Flowey pleaded, fighting to keep the fear from his face and voice. “Y-you’ll see…I-“

“Asriel,” the human said, their tone as sharp as their blade. “I can feel it, you know. What you’re trying to do.”

“ _asriel_?” Sans eyes widened a bit.

Flowey opened his mouth to speak, but the human continued. “You can’t restart the timeline, not while I’m here.” They smiled wickedly, raising their knife. “Guess I’m just more determined than you are. Now. Get. Out. Of. My Way.” Sans flinched as each word was punctuated with a slash of their knife as they destroyed the flower, leaving only small pieces of scattered debris.

 _he didn’t deserve that,_ Sans thought grimly. “now what kid?” he demanded, one hand coming out of his pocket to gesture while he talked because he was feeling restless. “ _you_ can’t do anything with the souls. and flowey…asriel just killed your one ticket out of here. you can’t get to the others so you’re out of monsters to kill.” He felt his anger rising, wishing he could call on his magic and wishing more that it would matter.

“Thank you, Frisk.”

Sans narrowed his eyes, moving slowly around to face the human. The look on their face was unsettling.

“Your power awakened me from death.” They held up their hands, seeming please. “My _human soul._ My _determination._ ” A dark chuckle slipped through their grin. “They were not mine, but _yours_.” The human closed their eyes, walking toward Asgore’s throne.

Sans stepped out of the child’s way, turning to watch them as they climbed onto the throne, settling comfortably. “what are you talking about?”

“Now I realize the purpose of my reincarnation. Power.” A smug smile crossed their features and they twirled the knife in their hands. “Together, we eradicated the enemy and became strong.”

“the _enemy_?” Sans scoffed, not caring if the human could hear them or not. “you killed innocents who, in many time lines, have been your friends and allies.”

“Now…now we have reached the absolute,” the human continued, oblivious to Sans. “There is nothing left for us here.”

“but now the underground is your prison,” Sans noted.

“Frisk, let us erase this pointless world…and move on to the next.” They closed their eyes for a moment and then shook his head, a dark, hollow laugh escaping them. “Oh Frisk, do you honestly believe you have a choice in what happens. If you won’t work with me, then you are simply…in my way.” They laughed again, red-black aura surrounding them. Everything began shaking violently as the aura spread outward and the air was filled with a cacophony of sound as the world began to tear apart at the seams.

“ _reset,_ frisk!” Sans shouted desperately over the noise, pressing his hands to the sides of his head to try and block it out to no avail. _how…how do they have this kind of power?_ He wondered, helpless to do anything but watch as the world began to crumble away. The realization that there would be no reset filled him with icy dread.

Amid the chaos, he spotted Gaster once more, seemingly unfazed by the chaos. He held Sans' gaze and the shorter skeleton couldn't have looked away if he tried.

*Now you see what is at stake* Gaster said by means of gestures with his hands. Sans found he understood them though he didn’t know how; he wasn’t in a position to question it. *The moment you truly stop caring, this outcome will be unavoidable.*

The noise grew more unbearable and the shattered pieces of reality began to fall away into a void, leaving only the two skeletons alone in darkness though they could see each other. Sans felt as though he might go deaf from the sound and it was hard for him to focus on Gaster, who remained nonplussed.

*What will you do now,* Gaster signed, his eyes glowing blue and orange as they did before. Sans felt his own magic returning and his left eye began to glow. *Can you truly afford not to care?*

“Wait!” he shouted, reaching out a hand. But his words swallowed and lost in the rush of noise and his vision began to fade.

*Get up.*


	4. Chapter 4

“Where is he? I told him to hurry!”

“I-it’s only been about a m-minute.”

“Ngahh! Who knows how many _minutes_ we have left!”

“U-undyne, don’t suplex your piano!”

Sans cracked his eyes open, hearing said piano make a discordant bang as it was handled none too gently.

“S-sorry Alphys it’s just…I don’t want to do this.”

“Who would?”

 _undyne and alphys? what’s going on?_ Sans wondered, his eyes sliding closed again. Even the dim light of the room seemed too bright at this moment. His entire body ached and he wasn’t sure why. He tried to sit up but his body felt too weak to respond.

“This is going to destroy him…” Undyne said, her voice sounding oddly sad for the usually energetic monster. “Will he…you know…”

“I-it’s different for every monster…I…I don’t know how much longer he’ll be…there,” Alphys replied, also sounding sad. “I…I’m sorry that…”

“Don’t you dare!” Undyne snapped, his foot stomping on the ground. “It’s not your fault. I just…had to ask…damn it, why Sans? What happened to him?”

 _what happened to me?_ Sans wondered, finding the question odd. He opened his eyes slightly again to look around. He was in what he could only assume to be Undyne’s room, judging from the weapons mounted on the wall he could see. He tried again to move, but only felt a wave of pain wsh over him.

 _feels like i’m dying,_ he thought half-jokingly. His eyes widened a bit more as he realized that that was what was happening. He had felt this way before after fighting the human child, though usually he was more concerned with the gash cut into his chest.

“Are you sure you want to...um...h-he’s on your b-b-bed…”

“Where am I supposed to put him, on the floor?” Undyne snapped. “I’m sorry…I just…I’ll deal with it…he should be comfortable if he’s…dying,” she choked on the last word. “Papyrus…what am I even going to say?”

Several thoughts raced through Sans’ mind. Why was he in Undyne’s room? Was his bout of non-existence just a dream? If he died, would everything end or would there be a reset? _i don’t want to die,_ he thought, squeezing his eyes shut. _even if i have to go through these resets a hundred…a thousand more times, i can’t give up. not if means that everything ends like that._

He felt his fingers twitch against the bedspread and he moved them again, ignoring the pain the small movement caused him.

 _if that wasn’t a dream…no, even if it was a dream…flowey…asriel. if he was behind the other resets, he has information…he’s a piece to the puzzle…_ Slowly Sans managed to push himself onto his side, gritting his teeth. He was thankful that Undyne hadn’t put him under the sheets as he wasn’t certain he would be able to escape the bed if she had. He paused, his eyes opening slightly. He noticed that his jacket had been removed and looked around to find it had been draped on the foot of the bed. He made that his goal: get his jacket back on.

 _chara…are they the reason frisk kills sometimes? do frisk, chara, and flowey remember between the resets?_ He kept asking himself questions as he managed to sit up on the edge of the bed, sweat dotting his brow. His body seemed to hurt less as he focused on the things he needed to and still could try to do.

 _maybe gaster wasn’t just showing me what could happen if i stopped caring…maybe he was trying to give me clues._ Huffing a weak laugh though his teeth, he managed to get to his feet, though his knees felt like they might give out on him. _i feel like i still have a chance to stop these resets. maybe one day we can get to the surface and stay there. but even if it takes a million resets, i gotta try. for undyne and alphys…tori and asgore…mettaton…everyone. But especially for-“_

“Papyrus!” Undyne exclaimed.

“UNDYNE, WE CAME AS FAST AS WE COULD! … WHERE IS SANS?”

Sans dragged on his jacket and found his slippers had been left at the foot of the bed. Stepping into them, he drew in a breath to steady himself.

“Y-yeah…u-uh…you two come in too? Make yourselves…at home?” Undyne was saying. “But uh…look, Papyrus…I did find Sans, but…uh…he…uh…”

“WHAT’S WRONG UNDYNE?” Papyrus asked. “IS EVERYTHING OK?”

“Sans…I’m no good at this sort of thing…so I’m just going to say it. Sans-“

Sans opened the door, rattling the door knob intentionally to get everyone’s attention.

“it’s ok, undyne,” the short skeleton said, clearing his throat a bit. “i’ll talk to him.”

Undyne and Alphys froze, staring at Sans with their mouths agape. Papyrus rushed toward Sans, picking him up to crush him to his chest.

“OH MY GOD SANS, YOU HAD ME SO WORRIED!” the taller skeleton said. “YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU CAN TALK TO ME WHENEVER ANYTHING IS BOTHERING YOU! YOU DIDN’T HAVE TO COME TO UNDYNE’S!” There was a hint of disappointment in his brother’s voice that made Sans wince.

“i just sort of ended up here pap,” Sans said, not entirely lying. He caught Undyne’s gaze over Papyrus’ shoulder.

The fish monster’s mouth snapped shut and she forced a cocky but relieved grin. “Yeah, I was going to tell you to pick him up. this dork came over to take a nap. Heh, I’ll never understand how you get anything done being so lazy, Sans.” She elbowed Alphys, making the scientist close her mouth as well, though her eyes were trained on the short skeleton.

Sans nodded slightly in gratitude and noticed who else had arrived with Papyrus.

“Sans, I’m so happy that you are alright,” Toriel said, offering him a smile. “Are you feeling better? Papyrus told me you had been quite upset when you disappeared on him.”

“t- uh…” Sans caught himself. “sorry, i didn’t mean to, i just…needed some time…” he said lamely. Papyrus held him out at arm’s length, his feet still dangling above the floor.

“EVEN SO, PLEASE TALK TO ME INSTEAD OF RUNNING AWAY. WHATEVER IS BOTHERING YOU, WE CAN GET THROUGH IT TOGETHER!”

Sans blinked and smiled a bit broader. “heh, i just didn’t want to _brother_ you with my problems.” He chuckled as he saw Papyrus’ eye twitch slightly at the pun. “we can talk later. aren’t you going to introduce your friends?”

The taller skeleton blinked, suddenly distracted by the realization that his new friends hadn’t been properly introduced. “AH, THIS IS TORIEL, YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT. SHE IS YOUR FRIEND FROM THE BIG DOOR IN SNOWDIN. AND THIS IS AN ACTUAL HUMAN!” Papyrus motioned to a human child who was eyeing Undyne warily and carefully keeping to Toriel’s side. “THEY ARE CALLED FRISK.”

They all sat around Undyne’s table, the fish monster flitting about the kitchen making tea while the others say and talked around the table. Sans relaxed as he realized Frisk seemed to be themselves for the time being. The gathering further reminded him of why he needed to keep going. Thinking that one day the resets would end and they could have gatherings like this on the surface did more than fill him with determination; it gave him something to hope for.

* * *

After they left Undyne’s home, Papyrus and Sans offered to walk Toriel and Frisk back to the ruins. Alphys had fussed over Sans before they left and given him a clean bill of health, which perplexed her but she was none the less relieved.

Sans realized that he felt better than he had in a long time. His smile came easier and he was happy to make bad jokes with Toriel, much to Papyrus’ chagrin. At the door to the ruins, Frisk hesitated. Sans gave them a small nudge, leaning close.

“can you give me a few days before you reset again kid?” he asked in a low voice.

Frisk stiffened, turning their head slightly to look Sans in the eye. Their expression told the skeleton what he needed to know. “in fact, after i do what i need to, i’ll let you know when to do it, cause you’re probably going to need to.” his left eye glowed faintly.

Frisk shuddered and nodded their head. “We…we need to talk, don’t we?” they guessed.

“if you want to tell me what you’re trying to do, then yeah, we really do. maybe we can help each other out.”

“Frisk, is everything alright?” Toriel asked, looking concerned.

“enjoy a little time with her too, kid. we could both use a break, huh?” Sans said, nodding his head toward Toriel. “i was just promising to show them around the underground sometime, if that’s ok with you, tori.”

Toriel smiled at the nickname, though there was a hint of sadness in her eyes. “I…suppose it would be alright.” As Frisk came to her side, she affectionately patted their head. “We will both see you again soon then. Papyrus, take care of your brother.”

“OF COURSE, TORIEL!”

Once the large door to the ruins was shut, Sans grabbed Papyrus’ arm and teleported them both home without warning. Papyrus staggered a bit, regaining his bearings, and then looked down at Sans.

“look pap, i’m sorry i ran off, but i-“

“IT’S OK SANS, I ALREADY FORGIVE YOU,” Papyrus cut him off, sitting on the couch and motioning for Sans to sit beside him. The shorter skeleton waved a hand dismissively at the offer, pacing in front of the couch.

“it’s not though. there are a lot of things i haven’t said, and things i should say. and now i feel like i should be telling you what’s really been bothering me… and there’s something i really need your help with.”

Papyrus’ expression became serious and he nodded. “WHATEVER YOU NEED, BROTHER, I WILL DO EVERYTIHNG I CAN TO HELP.”

Sans stopped and smiled up at Papyrus with a nod. “i know bro. and i’m going to need you to trust me cause some of this might sound crazy. guess i’ll start at the beginning. you know your _friend_ , flowey?”

* * *

Two days passed and Papyrus was hanging a banner on the side of the house. He turned from it just as a small yellow flower popped up from the ground, shaking it’s petals and smiling up at Papyrus. “Okay Papyrus wh…what?” the flower blinked up at the banner and then laughed. “The Flowey Fan Club?”

“YES!” Papyrus said, holding and arm out to the hand-painted banner that looked like a child had made it. “BEHOLD, FLOWEY! I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, HAVE CREATED A FAN CLUB FOR YOU! AFTER ALL, YOU ARE A VERY DEAR FRIEND AND TRULY DESERVE MORE RECOGNITION!”

Flowey forced a bright smile. “Aw, Papyrus, you really are the best friend anyone could ever ask for, but it’s not much of a fan club with only two members. Besides, I told you before I’m really too shy to-“

“DO NOT WORRY!” Papyrus interrupted. “THERE IS ANOTHER MEMBER, BUT HE IS ALSO EXTREMELY NICE!” He hesitated a moment before adding nervously “OH, LOOK AT THE TIME! I HAVE TO GO RECALIBRATE MY PUZZLES, YOU TWO HAVE A GOOD TIME!” He turned and jumped through the window and into the house.

“don’t worry bro, i’m sure flowey and i will be great _fronds_ ” Sans said. Flowey turned to see the short skeleton had appeared behind him and tried to dive underground. A blue aura surrounded him, preventing him from escaping. He looked up into Sans’ eyes: the skeleton's left was glowing blue but the right was eerily dark. “ _leafing_ so soon? stick around for a _lily_ bit.”

“SANS!”

“heh, sorry bro,” Sans chuckled, winking his right eye and moving closer to Flowey.

“Stay away from me you smiling trash bag,” Flowey snapped, struggling to escape.

Sans crouched down in front of Flowey. “you and i both know what’s goin’ on, so i'll just cut to the _chaff_ and get to the _root_ of the problem.” He produced a notebook and pen, grinning down at the flower menacingly. “what do you say, asriel: want to compare notes?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Done in time for Christmas! Hope you liked it! I have more bad ideas to explore but the holidays beckon. Hope you and yours are having/have/had a good holiday season, regardless of what you celebrate!

**Author's Note:**

> Constructive criticism always welcome, flames used to toast marshmallows. Enjoy!


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